FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 show a lever-type connector disclosed in below-described patent literature 1. The lever-type connector 100 includes a first connector housing 110, a second connector housing 120, a fitting operation lever 130, a temporary lever lock mechanism 140 and a temporary lock release mechanism 150.
The first connector housing 110 has a lever accommodation space 111 defined in an inner side of one outer side wall not shown in the drawing which passes through in a mutual fitting direction (a direction shown by an arrow mark X1 in FIG. 12) of both the connector housing.
The second connector housing 120 includes a fitting part 121 which fits the first connector housing 110 inside and a fitting protrusion 123 which is protruded on an inner side surface (not shown in the drawing) of the fitting part 121 opposed to the one outer side wall of the first connector housing 110 which is not shown in the drawing.
The fitting operation lever 130 includes a lever main body 131 supported in the lever accommodation space 111 so as to be rotatable on a pivot 113 as a supporting point of rotation and an operation part 132 extended to one end of the lever main body 131.
As shown in FIG. 12, the fitting operation lever 130 is provided so as to be rotatable on the pivot 113 as a center of rotation within a range of an angle θ from an initial rotation position P1 to a rotation finish position P2. The operation part 132 is a part to be gripped when the fitting operation lever 130 is operated to rotate and provided under a state that the fitting operation lever 130 is extended to an external part from the lever accommodation space 111. An arrow mark R1 drawn in FIG. 12 shows a rotating direction when the fitting operation lever 130 is rotated from the initial rotation position P1 to the rotation finish position P2.
In the lever main body 131 of the fitting operation lever 130, there are provided a cam groove 134 in which the fitting protrusion 123 of the second connector housing 120 can slide and an elastic engagement piece 135 which allows the fitting operation lever 130 to be temporarily locked in the initial rotation position P1.
The cam groove 134 is formed in such a way that when the first connector housing 110 is butted on the second connector housing 120 in a fitting start position under a state that the fitting operation lever 130 is located in the initial rotation position P1 as shown in FIG. 13, the fitting protrusion 123 on the second connector housing 120 enters a start end 134a of the groove. Further, when the fitting operation lever 130 is operated to rotate from the initial rotation position P1 to a side of the rotation finish position P2, the fitting protrusion 123 engaged with the start end 134a of the groove is drawn in a fitting direction. And when the fitting operation lever 130 reaches the rotation finish position P2, the first connector housing 110 is completely fitted to the second connector housing 120.
The elastic engagement piece 135 has a structure that an engaging protrusion 135b is provided in a tip end of an elastic piece 135a extended along an outer periphery of the lever main body 131. The protrusion 135b can be displaced to a side of the center of rotation by a flexible deformation of the elastic piece 135a. The protrusion 135b at the tip end is engaged with the temporary lever lock mechanism 140 provided in the lever accommodation space 111 of the first connector housing 110, so that the elastic engagement piece 135 positions the fitting operation lever 130 in the initial rotation position P1.
As shown in FIG. 12, in the temporary lever lock mechanism 140, when a stepped part provided in the lever accommodation space 111 is engaged with the elastic engagement piece 135 of the above-described fitting operation lever 130, the temporary lever lock mechanism 140 temporarily locks the fitting operation lever 130 in the initial rotation position P1.
The temporary lock release mechanism 150 is a rib which is allowed to stand upright in the inner side surface of the fitting part 121 in the second connector housing 120 so as to be opposed to the temporary lever lock mechanism 140 provided in the lever accommodation space 111. As shown in FIG. 13, when the first connector housing 110 is butted on the second connector housing 120 in the fitting start position, the temporary lock release mechanism 150 moves forward to the temporary lever lock mechanism 140. Thus, the elastic engagement piece 135 is flexibly deformed so as to be disengaged from the temporary lever lock mechanism 140, so that the temporary locked state by the temporary lever lock mechanism 140 is released.